Hey Tombomba2,
D'oh! You're right ... even with the US dollar exchange rate, the Nikkor 80-400mm is still over budget. The Nikkor 70-300mm VR certainly looks very affordable and light. Cheers for the suggestion!

That's kind of you - I'll keep that in mind. Still not decided on whether to go Canon or Nikon but to be honest, I think I'll be happy with either. I was actually thinking of buying this stuff in the States - the GBP / US $ exchange rate is just amazing value at the moment.

Just wondering ... has anyone else from the UK bought stuff from the US and if so, what have your experiences been? I travel to the States at least every year ...so was hoping to pick up a bit of extra shopping on my next trip!

Hi Hikergal, I've bought a few things in the US before and there's a couple of tricks to remember.

As Bob says, tax and duty in the UK can add about 25%, so you're looking at saving more than that to make it worthwhile in case you get caught. But then I've only met a couple of people who've been pulled aside at customs. Depends how busy they are and how good your poker face is! I have heard they can get you at a later point and as Bob says, all lenses and cameras have serial numbers which could identify them as being manufacturered and sold abroad. But then I guess you could have bought it second hand in the UK. I think after 12 months all bets are off anyway.

Either way, the goal is a 25% saving or better just in case.

As Tombomba says, keep an eye on the exchange rate, as that's the single biggest factor.

Then there's the actual shop price and delivery. The best prices are from internet dealers who ship free to local addresses. None that I've met will ship to a hotel though, so for the real bargains you'll need to know someone in the US who you can have the stuff posted to. If they'e visiting the UK, you could even ask them to carry it over. Most high street shops won't be as cheap as buying from the internet, especially as most will add US sales tax. Most internet sales avoid this, but again you need a local address to post it to.

Some cheaper compacts might even squeeze into your tax free allowance, but last time i checked it was only about 135 quid, or just over 200 bucks.

The whole internet thing has made prices internationally much more similar though, so there aren't always the bargains there were. I even hear some stuff can actually be more expensive in Japan now.

And yeah, as Bob says, if it breaks, who you gonna call?

Even with the downsides, I'd still check out US and Europe prices and exchange rates before buying in the UK. If your timing's right, you might still snag a bargain!

Just to complicate things even more while it may be true that internet dealers in the States ship free to local addresses I believe it is still true that if you buy from an e-tailer within the same state then you are liable for sales tax while if you buy from one out of state you aren't. I am now about four years out of date on this so please don't take the above as gospel.

And b.t.w.: I didn't get any taxes back, when I bought my Sony camcorder in the U.S.
BUT...
The Euro to Dollar rate is getting more interesting every day!
This one is tough to decide.
Personally, I'd prefer to invest my hard earned cash in Euroland: Esp. in Germany and Austria there are a lot of attractive offers and at least you know that you get some sort of European "guaranty"